Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 3rd of October 2018
Case name: 2018_10_03-AEG435
Situation: 3 boats, 1 to Chios intercepted by the Turkish Coastguard, 1 arrived to Lesvos, and 1 arrived to Samos
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Aegean Sea

Summary of the Case: In the early hours of Wednesday the 3rd of October 2018, the Alarm phone shift team was alerted to 3 boats in the Aegean sea. The first boat, which was carrying 42 people (including 13 children), was en route to Chios. After encountering problems with the boat’s engine, they were intercepted by the Turkish Coastguard. The second boat of 19 people landed in the South of Lesvos. The third boat which we were alerted to was one of six that landed on Samos that day.

At 5:30am CEST we were informed about a boat with engine troubles carrying 42 people (including 13 children) which was heading towards Chios. We received a GPS position for the boat showing that it was in Greek waters. Over the next hour we were unable to make contact with the boat and at 6:20am we provided the Greek coastguard with our information on the case. They later told us that despite having sent a boat to this GPS position, they did not find a boat in distress. At 7:50am we are told by our contact person that the boat was with the Turkish Coastguard, and at 8:45am received confirmation of this from the boat.

At 5:49am a contact person alerted us to a boat carrying 19 people, which from the GPS position provided appeared to be in Turkish waters. At 1:40pm a new contact person for this case informed us that a boat (which we concluded was most likely the boat from this case) had arrived on Lesbos.

At 6:10am we received information about a boat heading towards Chios. The boat was in Greek waters. At 6:20am we contacted the Greek coastguard and gave them the information we had. At 7:45am the Greek coastguard said that despite searching at the position we had sent them, they didn’t find any boat. The Greek coastguard contacted us several times over the next few hours to get more information, which as we had received none, we could not provide. At noon the contact person told us that the boat had safely arrived on Samos.